


captivated by you like a firework show

by tesselated



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Cisgirl!Zayn, F/F, F/M, Genderswap, cisgirl!niall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-24
Updated: 2013-07-24
Packaged: 2017-12-21 05:48:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/896541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tesselated/pseuds/tesselated
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>niall scoops ice cream at the park where zayn, louis, and liam play basketball, louis doesn't know how to feel things, zayn finds herself far too endeared to the girl she barely knows.</p>
            </blockquote>





	captivated by you like a firework show

**Author's Note:**

> i don't like tagging past relationships but this is past zouis/past lourry/past zerrie/probably more i'm forgetting about idk everyone has kissed a lot in the past that's all i'm saying
> 
> this is all jay's fault!!!!!

Zayn’s phone rings in the middle of sketching the windows of an office building, and her pencil skids across the paper when she flinches, making a dark line across the cloud she had drawn. Iit wasn’t technically necessary, nor was the sun wearing big sunglasses, but it’s the little things. 

She picks it up on the second ring, and before she has a chance to say hello, she hears Louis’ voice.

“So fuck, marry, kill - the Queen, Alexa Chung, Natalie Portman.” 

“Louis, I’m trying to work.” Zayn dead-pans, and Louis laughs. 

“No, seriously.” He says, and Zayn rolls her eyes. 

“Fuck Alexa Chung, marry the Queen, kill Natalie.” Zayn says in a bored voice, drawing little rays around her sunshine. 

Louis groans in disgust. 

“Oh, piss off Louis, no one likes Natalie Portman as much as you, get used to it.” Zayn says, but her voice is light. 

“Are you actually working, then?” Louis asks, and she can hear him take a sip of coffee.

“Was, yeah.” Zayn says, trying to erase the line she made when the phone made her jump. 

“Are you still on for tonight?” 

“Yeah, definitely. Need to get out of my fucking flat, Harry’s driving me up the wall.”

“Who is it he’s on about, Carol something?” Louis asks, but he doesn’t sound particularly interested; it’s hard to get too invested in Harry’s crushes, especially when they have the amazing knack to rotate around in quick succession. 

“Caroline, some woman from his office. I think I’ve met her, at a Christmas party or something. If I’m remembering the right person, she’s way too hot for him” Zayn says, grinning. 

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Louis says, and Zayn hears him typing. 

“I’m going to go back to work now. At my job.” Zayn says, and Louis sighs dramatically.

“If you _must_.” 

“I must. You’re my fuckin’ boss, Jesus, man.” Zayn laughs, and Louis giggles. 

“True. Get back to work, slacker. Also, get me coffee. I’m being serious about that, actually, please get me coffee.” 

“Yeah, whatever.” Zayn says, grinning as she hangs up the phone. She gets up, flipping him off when she walks past his office. He waves to her enthusiastically, and she rolls her eyes. 

It’s only slightly embarrassing, working as an intern for someone only a year older than her. She isn’t actually sure how Louis managed to fast-track himself, but it probably had something to do with the way he can charm anything with a pulse. 

Which, coincidentally, was also how they ended up sleeping together two weeks after she got the job at the architecture firm. Not her most shining moment, probably, but whatever. The morning after, when he asked her to make him breakfast, she snorted and said no, eliciting a surprised cackle.

“Please don’t tell me you fuck all your interns.” Zayn said in a dry voice over her morning cup of tea a few minutes later, and Louis laughed. 

“Nah, never fucked anyone I work with before. It gets a bit messy. You’re just...y’know, you’ve got...that whole thing.” He said, gesturing at her in her reading glasses and his button-down shirt, sitting with her legs folded on the kitchen counter. 

“Yeah, I know right?” She said, winking, and he cackled again. 

“We should be friends, proper friends. That means we can’t sleep together again, though.” Louis said, taking the tea from her hand and taking a sip. 

“Sounds good, mate.” Zayn said, punching him on the arm, and that was that. 

She doesn’t regret the whole thing; it was fun, after all. She does, though, regret agreeing to buy Louis coffee at exactly noon, the shop full from the lunch rush. She joins the already lengthy queue, pulling out her phone to whine at Louis. 

All in all, it’s a pretty normal day. 

++

“Honey, I’m home.” Zayn says, dropping her messenger bag next to the door of her flat. 

“Hello, darling.” Harry calls from the kitchen, and Zayn walks in to find him frantically stirring something, with food in his hair and an apron around his waist. 

Zayn sighs. “Is this about a girl?”

“Maybe. Shut up.” Harry mutters, and Zayn sighs again.

“Fuck’s sake, Harry.” Zayn says, pulling herself up to sit at the counter. 

“I don’t need your attitude.” Harry says, but she can tell he’s grinning. 

“Weren’t you just telling me the opposite the other night, when you went out and got drunk with Nick? Calling me at three in the morning, _oh Zayn, please, I need your help, you are the queen of romance and_ -” 

“I _definitely_ didn’t call you the queen of romance.” Harry says, pausing his stirring to turn around and raise an eyebrow. 

“You practically did.” Zayn says, rolling her eyes. 

“God, you’re turning into Louis. Stop hanging around him so much.” Harry says before turning around again, resuming his rapid whisking.

Zayn laughs, slipping off the counter to hug him from behind. 

“I’m going out with the lads to be sporty and do sporty things.” Zayn says, and Harry turns around to kiss her cheek. 

“Beat Louis, really really badly. He needs the ego check.” Harry says. Zayn just sticks her tongue out before padding off to her room to change. 

++

“All I’m saying is that marrying the Queen comes with more advantages than marrying Natalie Portman.” Zayn says between breaths, dribbling the basketball with Louis at her back. 

“Yeah, but Natalie Portman’s hot.” Louis says, stealing it from her and passing it to Liam. 

“So you’re telling me to kill the Queen?” Zayn asks, grabbing it from mid-air before Liam’s outstretched arms can reach it.

“That’s awful, what’s the Queen ever done to you?” Liam says, and Louis rolls his eyes. 

“I mean, she also hasn’t done anything _for_ me.” Louis says, crowding against Zayn again. 

“That’s fuckin’ dark, mate.” Zayn says, throwing the basketball and scoring herself another point. 

“I’d like to point out that I’m beating both of you single-handedly.” Zayn offers, glancing down at her nails as she dribbles the ball with her other hand. 

“Yeah, I know, fuck off.” Louis says, jogging over to his bag to grab his water bottle. He pulls his sweat-damp tank top off, jamming it into his bag carelessly, and Liam walks over to do the same, folding his neatly into his gym bag. Typical. 

Zayn follows them, pulling off her loose tank top, probably inherited from Harry at some point from the way it’s hanging off her. Her sports bra is stuck to her skin and she feels overly hot, the humidity of the evening tangible in the air. 

“So how’s Harry getting on with it?” Louis asks, flopping down onto the park bench nearest them.

“Oh, y’know, the usual. When I left he was stirring something like his life depended on it, wearing a goddamn apron.” Zayn says, pulling a cigarette out of her bag and lighting it.

“Ugh, Zayn.” Liam whines, and Zayn sighs. 

“We’re outside, alright? I’m allowed to smoke.” Zayn says. Liam just looks at her with his big puppydog eyes, and she sighs again. She exhales smoke as she lifts her arms above her head, stretching her muscles. 

Playing basketball somehow became their thing, after two years of knowing each other. Before Zayn, Liam and Louis just played football, since Liam didn’t mind getting absolutely destroyed every game. But Zayn did, and even she and Liam together couldn’t hope to beat Lou, so she suggested basketball. They were all decent, and she got to look at Liam shirtless a lot; it was a win-win.

As she leans over to her left side to stretch, she hears Louis give a surprised laugh, and she gives him a questioning look.

“I think that ice cream girl just dropped a cone because she was staring at you.” Louis says, pointing over to the far side of the park with absolutely no subtlety. 

It doesn’t matter, because the girl in question is bent over, trying to pick up the remnants of some sort of ice cream disaster. She looks cute, Zayn thinks, what she can see of her. So mostly her ass. Her ass is cute, is what she’s saying. She’s got floppy blonde hair with pink streaks in it and when she stands up she’s wearing on overlarge Obama 2012 tank top with tiny denim shorts. 

She glances over at Zayn and flushes instantly when she finds Zayn looking at _her_ , and tries to busy herself, moving ice cream scoops without any real purpose.

“Hm.” Zayn says, putting her hands on her hips. “Yeah, okay. I’ll be right back.” 

Louis and Liam are play-fighting, though, slapping at each other and shoving each others chests, so she doesn’t think they heard her. Whatever, they’ll figure it out.

She can tell the blonde’s really trying to not look at her, her head bowed but her eyes furtively snapping up every few seconds, and Zayn smiles in that slow way that she knows looks really fucking good.

“Hi,” Zayn says, leaning against the counter of the small ice cream stand. The blonde finally looks at her fully, a grin on her face and a blush still on her cheeks, and Zayn didn’t expect this. She’s _cute_ , like, _really_ cute, and Zayn wants to kiss her and do other things she didn’t expect to be thinking about at an ice cream stand.

“Hey.” The girl says, brushing a pink chunk of hair out of her face. 

“I’m Zayn.” She says, leaning so she knows the other girl can see down her shirt. It’s maybe not the most subtle move, but it’s effective, she’s learned. 

“Niall. S’funny, I’m used to comments about how weird my name is, but, well.” Niall says, grinning and gesturing to Zayn.

Zayn laughs, pulling herself back up to stand. “I’ll have a mint chocolate chip, then.” She says, pointing at the flavor, and Niall busies herself with scooping it into a cone. 

“Shit, my money’s over there, hang on -” Zayn starts, but Niall laughs, shaking her head. 

“It’s alright, it’s on me.” She says, and her grin is broad across her face. 

“Yeah?” Zayn asks, folding her arms across her chest.

“Yeah.” 

“Can you do me a favor, then?” Zayn asks, and Niall raises her eyebrows.

“Depends on the favor.”

“Can I also have your number?” Zayn asks, smirking, and Niall laughs again. She’s never heard someone laugh the way Niall laughs, like it takes over her whole body for a few seconds, like she can’t control it. 

Niall scrawls her phone number on a napkin and Zayn folds it, holding it next to her dripping ice cream cone.

“See you around, then.” Zayn says, waving behind her as she walks away, and Niall nods, waving back. 

It’s possible that she swings her hips on the way back to where Louis and Liam are now wrestling on the grass, but no one can prove it. 

++

She walks into her flat to find Harry sitting at an actual candlelit dinner with a woman who, she was right, is far too gorgeous for him. 

“Oh, sorry to interrupt.” She says as Harry gives her a deathglare over Caroline’s shoulder.

“Hi, I’m Caroline.” The woman says, standing up to shake Zayn’s hand. She’s extremely put-together, extremely pretty, and altogether extremely intimidating, so maybe she understands Harry’s frantic cooking earlier. 

“I’m Zayn, the flatmate. I’ll clear out in a bit, sorry.” Zayn says, and she scurries back to her bedroom. She had actually been planning on calling her mum and drinking most of a bottle of wine, like an adult, but alas. 

Instead, she calls Perrie. 

“Hey, love, how’ve you been?” Perrie says in her lilting accent as a way of greeting, and Zayn grins. 

“I’ve been working and busy and boring. How about you?” 

“About the same. You wanna go out tonight?” Perrie asks, making Zayn laugh.

“How’d you know?” 

“Because you always count on me for a good time.” Perrie says, and Zayn can practically hear her wink. “Alright if Leigh-Anne comes?” 

“Yeah, sure. Invite everyone, just get me out of this flat.” Zayn says, and Perrie giggles, giving her the name of a club and hanging up. 

And that’s how she ends up tipsy, dancing up against four girls who she hadn’t seen in three months. Jesy’s doing some rude dance move toward Jade, laughing like a maniac as Jade stumbles around in her too-high heels, Perrie’s dancing like an idiot, and Leigh-Anne is knocking her hips against Perrie’s as she laughs.

She never realizes how much she had missed them, Perrie and her girls, until she sees them. They’re always like this, all energy, all laughs, and they fill whatever room they’re in with this warmth that’s hard to replicate. 

Or maybe she’s just pissed, she thinks, walking over to the bar and ordering another pink thing for Perrie and another rum thing for herself.

“Hey!” Zayn hears a voice say behind her, loud and happy, and she turns around to find the blonde from the ice cream cart. Niall, she reminds herself, and she grins. 

“Fancy seeing you, eh?” Zayn says, and she’s proud of herself for only slurring a tiny bit. Niall just laughs, her half-cackle of a laugh, and it makes Zayn grin wider. 

“Dance with me.” Niall says, more of a command than a question. Her hand’s resting lightly on Zayn’s arm, fingers tapping like she doesn’t realize she’s doing it. 

“Sure, just gotta give this to my friend.” Zayn says, gesturing to the fruity-looking cocktail she ordered for Perrie, the same color as her hair. But when she looks towards them, Perrie’s attached to Leigh-Anne by the lips, and she thinks that maybe she shouldn’t interrupt them. So she leans into Niall’s touch instead, letting her grab Zayn by the wrist and lead her to the tightly-packed dance floor. 

She’s wearing this little tight dress, not what Zayn had expected from the girl in the tank top at the park, but when she looks down she realizes she’s paired it with black Converse and she can’t help but grin. It amplifies their height difference, Zayn in her stilettos next to Niall in sneakers, but Niall’s not letting that stop her from putting her hands on Zayn’s waist, gripping tight enough to make Zayn giggle in the way where nothing’s really funny. 

They’re dancing to something Zayn doesn’t recognize, all female vocals and a strong beat, and Zayn rocks her hips against Niall’s, smirking down at her from her vantage point. Niall just smirks back, running her hands down to Zayn’s hips, and she looks older than Zayn remembers her looking with an ice cream scoop in her hand. 

They dance together through two more songs, before Perrie comes up and throws her arms around Zayn from behind. 

“We’re gonna clear out, love, but you stay here. Have fun.” Perrie says, winking and pinching Zayn’s side, and she blows her a kiss, calling goodbye as the four of them walk out all at once. 

“They your mates?” Niall half-yells over the music, still moving her hips to the beat, flush against Zayn’s lap. 

“Yeah.” Zayn says back even though Niall only seems half interested in her answer.

“C’mon.” Niall says a minute later, pulling her out of the side door by the wrist. 

“Mine?” Niall asks when they’re on the sidewalk, and Zayn nods as she pulls a pack of cigarettes out of her bag. Her red lipstick stains the filter and she feels tipsy and _good_ , Niall’s fingers still wrapped around her wrist. 

++

Niall fucks her like she has something to prove, hands and mouth all over her, kissing over every tattoo. 

She’s struck again with how much different Niall is from what she expected, the blushing girl scooping ice cream. Now she’s buried between Zayn’s thighs, her fingernails pressing crescent moons into her hipbones while her tongue works in circles around her clit. One of her hands moves down between her own legs, and Zayn reaches down to twist a hand in her hair, pulling it so the dark roots show. 

After she makes Zayn come she moves up, and Zayn kisses the taste of herself out of Niall’s mouth. Her hand’s still moving between her thighs, and the closer she gets, the less energy she puts into kissing Zayn, her mouth hanging open as she pants roughly onto Zayn’s lips. 

She comes with a sharp gasp, going limp on top of Zayn and grinning as she tucks her head into the crook of Zayn’s neck. 

“You’re a shit dancer, but a great lay.” Niall mutters, and Zayn gives a breathy laugh. It’s the last thing she remembers before sleeping better than she has in a month.

++

She’s alone when she wakes up, and she forgets where she is for a minute until she opens her eyes to Niall’s plaid sheets. She grins at memories of the night before, and sits up in Niall’s small bed. The whole room is small, actually, only barely containing the bed, a dresser, and a closet stuffed with clothes, apparently tossed in at random. 

There’s a guitar next to the bed, one of the big acoustic ones that Harry always looks when he walks past the music shop, swearing he’ll teach himself one day. 

She grabs it on a whim, pulling it into her lap and contorting her fingers into the easy chords she remembers one of her boyfriends at uni teaching her. She strums it awkwardly; she’s never been good at picking up instruments, never had any musical aptitude. She’s a decent singer, she guesses, but other than that. 

She hears the door shut to the apartment and she looks toward the bedroom door to find Niall, already dressed in a t-shirt big enough to wear as a dress, a backwards snapback, and high-top Nikes. She’s holding a box of donuts and two cups of coffee and staring at Zayn with this warm look, too fond for a one night stand. 

“Hey.” Zayn says, smiling slightly as Niall juggles all the items in her hands. 

“Hi.” Niall mumbles, holding one of the paper coffee cups by her teeth, and Zayn sets aside the guitar, scrambling over to her to grab the cup before it drops. 

“Thanks, love.” Niall says, grinning as she scans down Zayn’s body. That’s when she remembers she’s still naked. “Got breakfast.” 

Niall sets down the donut box on the bed, taking a sip of her coffee before putting it on the bedside table. She kicks off her shoes and sits next to Zayn on the bed, her hand resting on Zayn’s thigh. 

“D’you play?” Zayn asks, pointing to the guitar as Niall hands her a chocolate donut. 

“Yeah, since forever.” Niall says through a mouthful of food, shrugging. “I’m really good at figuring out arrangements to Justin Bieber songs, but not much else.” 

“Interesting.” Zayn says, licking the frosting off of her donut.

“Yeah, it’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it, right?” Niall asks, her cheeks turning pink at her own joke. 

“You live here by yourself?” 

“Not much room for anyone else, eh?” Niall asks, grinning wide with a full mouth of donut. Zayn feels like she should be really, really grossed out, but really not. She doesn’t let herself dwell on that. 

She’s kind of endeared by this girl, she realizes, to her ridiculous wardrobe and her bubblegum pink streaks and the way her blunt nails keep skittering across her thigh. The way her accent falls on words, the way it falls on her name. 

She should get dressed, she thinks idly with Niall’s hand still brushing her leg. 

“So what d’you do?” Niall asks. 

“I work at an architecture firm. I’m just an intern, actually, but I do most of the sketching and rendering for my boss. It’s fairly boring.” Zayn says lightly, because she knows it is. 

“Nah, it’s sick. Better than sweating in a park.” Niall laughs.

“Well, after half an art degree, figured I should probably go into something that I could hope to make a living in.” Zayn shrugs, ripping off another piece of her donut. 

“You’re wiser than me, then. Music tech.” Niall says proudly, raising her eyebrows and smirking. 

Zayn raises her eyebrows, nodding. “So you’re serious, huh?”

“Yeah. In a band and everything.” 

“Wow, very impressive. Play me something.” Zayn says, grinning and folding her legs up to her chest. 

Niall rolls her eyes, scoffing as she finishes the last donut. “D’you want something to put on? You look freezing.”

Zayn just shrugs, but the goosepimples on her arms give her away, and Niall gets up to sort through her closet, tossing aside various items of clothing. 

“Don’t reckon you want your outfit from last night,” Niall says, gesturing down to the pile of black that is her tiny sheer dress and too-high stilettos, “So here.” 

She hands her a big black t-shirt with “dope” written on it in cursive and a pair of neon pink panties, and Zayn grins. 

“Is this your whole wardrobe, then?” Zayn asks, lifting her hips to pull the underwear on. 

“Mostly, yeah.” Niall grins at her as she grabs the guitar, pulling it into her lap and turning the pegs as she plucks strings. 

“What d’you wanna hear?” Niall asks, and she looks so at home behind the guitar, her fingers moving deftly over the fret board as she tunes it. 

“Something clichéd.” Zayn says, leaning back against Niall’s pillows. 

So Niall plays “Wonderwall”, her voice soft for the first verse but getting louder as she continues, clear and bright as she strums easily. 

“Is this what you do for all the girls?” Zayn asks before taking a sip of coffee, and Niall laughs. 

“What, play them Oasis and buy them donuts? Nah, you’re special.” Niall says, giving her a look that lasts a beat longer than it should before lowering her eyes to the guitar again. 

++

Zayn ends up wearing Niall’s ridiculous t-shirt home, knotted over her tight black dress. Niall insists that she borrow a pair of sneakers, won’t let her walk in her heels, so Zayn picks the oldest, scruffiest ones. 

“You and your mates play basketball at the park, yeah? You’ll see me. Give ‘em back then.” Niall says, grinning and leaning against her wall as Zayn struggles to slip on the worn shoes. 

“Maybe I’ll see you before then.” Zayn says, a smile playing at her lips, and Niall grins broadly.

“Yeah. Maybe.” Niall says, and they stand there staring at each other for a minute before Niall shifts forward and kisses her softly. She tastes like sugar and her cheeks flush slightly as she pulls away. 

“See y’around, then.” Zayn says, grinning as she walks out of Niall’s flat. 

++

“No.” Harry says to her from the couch as soon as she walks into the room.

“...What?” Zayn says, thrown. She sets her purse and her heels down next to the door, coming to flop down next to him on the sofa.

“You’re not allowed to speak to me with that look on your face.” Harry says grumpily. He’s still in his boxer-briefs and nothing else, which she guesses is to be expected of him on a Saturday at eight AM.

“What look is that, exactly?” Zayn asks, snuggling into his side. 

“You’ve got like, post-sex glow.” 

“Yeah. Suppose I do.” Zayn says smugly, pinching one of Harry’s extra nipples, and he barely even flinches. Instead, he turns to look at her, giving her a once-over. 

“What are you wearing? Who the hell did you sleep with?” Harry asks, sounding amused. 

“This little blonde girl with an affinity for baggy clothes.” Zayn says, sighing contentedly, and Harry rolls his eyes.

“How’d you get on with Caroline?” 

Harry sighs heavily, and Zayn laughs. “That bad, huh?”

“I don’t want to talk about it, man.” Harry says, and Zayn stifles another giggle. 

“Fair enough. Do you want to marathon a cooking show?” Zayn asks, leaning her head onto Harry’s bare shoulder, and he scoots closer to her.

“Yes. I want to do exactly that.” 

So Zayn changes into her own sweatpants and Harry turns on Great British Bake-Off and they spend the day cuddled on the couch and criticizing other peoples’ cupcakes. It feels cozy and it feels like home, and Zayn wonders when she started thinking of Harry as home. 

They’ve lived together for three years, since right out of uni when they were both artsy, skinny weirdos, getting tattoos together and smoking pot together and thinking they were really intelligent, important people together. 

Harry’s older now, with more tattoos and more muscles and more common sense, but he’s still the wide-eyed boy from her sophomore English course, all dimples and charm. 

Maybe she started thinking of him as home the day Perrie broke up with her and he missed two classes to bake her cookies and watch Sleepless in Seattle while her eyeliner ran down her face. Or when he visited her in Bradford and her whole family fell in love with him. Her mum still makes nudging comments about how cute they would be together, and Zayn just rolls her eyes. 

“Do you want takeaway?” Harry asks her when it’s late enough for lunch, the two of them squished together under a blanket on the sofa, and Zayn just nods. 

“Hey.” Zayn says, nudging his thigh with her foot a minute later. Harry turns around to look at her, eyebrows furrowed.

“Love you.” Zayn finishes quietly, and Harry grins. 

“Yeah, alright.” He says, but he snuggles against her to kiss her cheek. 

“Should we watch a Disney film? This seems like a moment where we watch a Disney film.” Harry says, and Zayn slaps at his arm. 

++

She gets a call from Louis at two in the afternoon, sounding exhausted and asking her to come into the office and help him get all the shit done that he’d been putting off for a week. 

“Fine, but I’m wearing sweatpants.” She replies, and Louis just sighs.

“Fine.”

She’s replying to all the emails Louis has been too lazy to when her phone chimes, buzzing across her desk.

From: Niall 3.58 PM  
 _Ive been tryin to think of something clever 2 text you for half an hour . Hi_

From: Zayn 4.02 PM  
 _Well it worked. Hi :) How are you x_

From: Niall 4.03 PM  
 _Sunburnt ! Must be doing somethin g right though just got chatted up by a lot of preteen boys_

From: Zayn 4.04 PM  
 _So youre telling me i have competition ;) x_

From: Niall 4.07 PM  
 _Yeh definitely i reckon the oldest one’s got a chance :) What are you up to_

From: Zayn 4.08 PM  
 _Boring work stuff. Are you working tonight x_

From: Niall 4.09 PM  
 _Yeah ! come visit . You fancy coming out w me and my mates after ?_

From: Zayn 4.10 PM  
 _Can I bring mine? :)_

From: Niall 4.13 PM  
 _Sounds funn_

From: Zayn 4.17 PM  
 _See you then xx :) aha_

“What are you giggling at, Malik?” Louis asks, leaning against her cubicle wall with a smirk on his face. He seems to be in better spirits than he had been earlier, grumpy and snapping at her from over his desk.

“You remember that girl from the park?” Zayn asks, and Louis laughs. 

“Little and blonde, that’s your type, isn’t it?” Louis asks, and Zayn glares at him until he puts his hands up like he’s pleading innocent.

“Sorry, sorry. Yeah, she was cute. Why, you going out with her tonight?” Louis asks, and it’s annoying how good he can look while being an asshole. A likeable asshole, she’ll give him that, but still a bit of an asshole. 

“Yeah. You are too, actually. She asked me out with her mates, I told her I was bringing mine. Ask Liam, would you?” Zayn says, and Louis smirks.

“This should be fun, then.” He says before walking away, looking distinctly like he’s hatching a plan. Knowing Louis, he very well may be hatching a plan, and she only lets the thought scare her a little before going back to doing the parts of his job he doesn’t like for him. 

Asshole. Handsome, charming asshole.

++

She shows up to the park with Liam and Louis in her wake, bickering with each other about something completely inconsequential. 

She’s wearing Niall’s scuffed-up trainers, feeling out of place not wearing heels with her typical slightly-casual-but-yes-I-want-to-sleep-with-you pub outfit. It’s not much, ripped jeans with a slinky tank top, but it’s usually pretty effective.

Niall grins at her from across the grass, and she wasn’t lying, her face is pink from sunburn. The sun brought out more freckles across her cheeks than Zayn remembers, and she grins back as Niall tosses her ice cream scoop up and down expectantly. She’s in a flannel this time, and Zayn wonders how she’s not melting in the heat when she notices her guitar case propped up against the wall next to her. 

“Hi,” Zayn says, smiling across the till at Niall. 

“Hi,” Niall says back, and Zayn feels a rush of something in her stomach that she chooses to ignore. 

“This is gross.” Louis says from behind her, and she turns around to give him annoyed look before promptly turning back around to face Niall.

“This is Louis. He’s my boss. And my friend, I guess.” She says, gesturing to him, and Louis strikes a ridiculous pose. Niall grins, raising her eyebrows. 

“He’s barely older than you, is he?” She asks Zayn, and Louis looks smug.

“I know. Remarkable, isn’t it?” He says, and Zayn rolls her eyes, slapping his arm. 

“This is Liam. He’s lovely.” Zayn says, and Liam smiles. 

“I’m just alright, really.” He says, and Niall extends a hand to fistbump him. 

It’s less awkward than Zayn thought it would be, but maybe it’s just because Liam and Louis are occupying themselves, walking in a pair behind Zayn and Niall. She’s got her guitar case slung across her back, and Zayn eyes it while they walk.

“So where’re we going?” Zayn asks, letting her hip knock against Niall’s. 

“To watch my band, uh, play a gig.” Niall says, the red of her cheeks darkening as Zayn smiles. 

“Cool. You’ll be great.” Zayn says, and Niall looks up to grin at her slowly. 

“Yeah. Thanks.” Niall says, sounding quiet for the first time since she met her. Her hand reaches out to Zayn’s, thumb brushing down her finger lightly, and Zayn lets herself acknowledge that rushing feeling from earlier, from the pit of her stomach.

“Are we there yet?” Louis whines from behind them, and Zayn stifles a grin. 

“Couple more blocks.” Niall says, turning around to look at him. He makes a whining noise and turns to Liam.

“Carry me, then.” Louis says to Liam, and Liam only hesitates for a beat before bending so that Louis can hop on his back. Zayn rolls her eyes at them through her smile before turning back to Niall. The sun’s shining on her profile, outlining the curve of her nose and her lips with a soft glow, making her hair look more golden, and Zayn’s overwhelmed with an urge to kiss her.

It’s been a while, since she’s held someone’s hand and felt like a teenager with them. She reminds herself that she’s known Niall for approximately two days, to calm down, but then Niall grins at her, her eyes too blue and too wide, and Zayn forgets her own advice. 

++

Niall’s band is comprised of her, a stocky drummer, a backup guitarist, and a small entourage of blokey blokes who joke loudly with her and shove at her shoulder when she says something particularly rude. 

She wonders how Niall fell into this circle, wonders a lot of things about her, but she quiets her mind when Niall gets on the impromptu stage at the back of the small pub, giggling into the microphone. She looks out of place in front of the three scruffy guys on stage with her with her pink hair and short shorts, but it dissolves when they start playing together. 

They’re well-practiced, for a band playing in the back of a pub, and their set is actually good. They play classic rock covers that Zayn recognizes from the radio station her dad always used to listen to, and occasional pop covers, a Demi Lovato song transformed into a slowed-down acoustic thing with Niall’s clear voice hitting the high notes. 

Niall blushes when they finish and the small crowd cheers enthusiastically. 

“Thanks,” She says into the microphone, a grin on her face. “If you really liked us that much, buy me a pint, yeah?” 

She hops off of the stage, putting her guitar into its case before walking over to where Zayn, Louis, and Liam are sat. 

“You were great.” Zayn says, leaning to kiss her cheek, and she can feel the blush on Niall’s face. 

“Wicked.” Louis echos behind her, as Liam says “Really great.”

She reaches out to fistbump both of them, pulling out the chair next to Zayn and sitting down. 

Liam goes to get them all drinks, and in the meantime Niall focuses her attention on Louis. He’s got half a smirk on his face when he catches her gaze, but Niall doesn’t back down, only laughs loudly. 

“So you’re Zayn’s boss, eh? How’s that go?” Niall asks, and Louis’ face transforms into a full smirk, looking like the Grinch who stole Christmas. 

“Well, it started out with me sleeping with her.” Louis says, and Zayn chokes on the water she was sipping. Niall laughs again, head tipped back, and Zayn wipes her mouth in the most attractive way she can manage.

“As you can imagine, it only got less fun from there.” He says, and Zayn raises an eyebrow at him. “Not that you aren’t splendid company, love. Actually, most of my closest friends are people I’ve slept with. It’s like an initiation ritual, I suppose.” Louis finishes, taking the beer Liam’s reaching out to give him as he pulls his own chair back out.

“Is that how you two got together?” Niall asks, gesturing between Louis and Liam, and there’s a beat of silence before Louis bursts into hysterical laughter and Liam blushes as he sets down the rest of the pints on the table. 

“No, we’re not -” Liam says, grinning good-naturedly past the flush on his cheeks. Louis’ still laughing, and Niall grins, looking apologetic.

“Sorry, just assumed. Y’know, the piggy back rides, the pet names.” Niall shrugs as she takes a swig of her beer, and Liam’s looking at Louis in what he probably thinks is a subtle way.

“No, we’ve known each other since we were in primary school. Roomed together at uni, still flatmates.” Liam says, his fingers tapping against his glass. He’s still grinning, and Louis finally recovers, wiping a tear from his eye and shaking his head.

In the back of her mind Zayn registers that Louis’ laughter was a little _too_ hard, and that Liam’s still giving Louis these ridiculous sidelong glances, but she’s distracted by Niall’s hand resting lightly on her thigh, fingers splayed but not moving. 

Before Niall can do anything further, her bandmates come striding toward the table, their own drinks in hand. They introduce themselves; the drummer, shorter than Niall, is Josh, and the guitarist is Dan. They’re a friendly group, laughing along at Louis’ stories and Zayn’s sarcastic comments, and Zayn feels warm and loose by her third pint. Niall’s had two more than her, but she’s only slightly less composed than Zayn.

“I’m Irish, love.” Niall says with a giggle in her voice. “I was born for handling my liquor.” 

She leans in and kisses Zayn briefly, hand reaching up to cup her cheek, before pulling away to give her a crooked smile. 

Louis is nearly in Liam’s lap on the other side of the table, tracing the lines on Liam’s upturned palm while Josh tells a story about Niall almost getting arrested at uni. It’s not the first time they’ve been mistaken for a couple, and probably not the last, but this time seems to have hit them harder, left them both reeling in their own subtle ways. Liam’s eyes keep lingering on Louis’ face, flashing down to where his delicate hands are stroking Liam’s broad palms. Louis’ more over-the-top about his affections than usual, kissing Liam on the cheek when he gets him another drink and leaving his hand on Liam’s arm after he slaps him there. 

Or honestly, maybe this is just normal, their actions only catching her attention because of Niall’s comment and her tipsy desire for them to be happy. 

_I’m happy_ , Zayn thinks distantly with Niall’s laugh in her ear and her pale fingers on her hip, her friends across the table and Niall’s making her laugh. _Tonight is a good night._

It’s a good night even before everyone clears out, saying goodbyes and waving as they walk out, and Niall tells Zayn that it’s still early, they should hang out. Louis winks after her as she leads Niall by the hand to get a cab, carrying her guitar case for her because Niall is giggling and stumbling too much to hold it herself.

They end up back in Zayn’s bedroom, Niall’s hands on her waist while she kisses her, tipsy and clumsy and giggling. She pushes Zayn back onto her bed but just lies down next to her, nosing at her neck and kissing her there lightly. She settles after that, throwing her arm across Zayn and just breathing, tickling Zayn’s neck. 

It’s calm and comfortably quiet, and they lie there for what could be ten minutes or an hour, Zayn can’t tell, before Niall huffs a laugh and whispers, “Y’wanna get stoned with me?” 

Zayn just laughs back at her, and she props herself up to kiss Zayn again, small pecks that don’t last long enough. She gives her a look and gets up, giving her a half-successful wink before hopping over to her guitar case and rummaging around underneath her guitar. 

Zayn crawls up her bed, reaching over to her iPod speakers and searching for the playlist that she sets aside for sex and weed, all slow R&B songs with hazy beats. The Weeknd plays as Niall drops down next to her, sitting with her legs crossed and a joint between her lips. 

“Gimme a light?” Niall says, her voice muffled, and Zayn reaches to grab her lighter from her bedside table, lighting the flame and illuminating Niall’s face in a warm orange glow. She takes a deep drag, passing the joint to Zayn while she holds it in.

“It’s been years since I’ve done this. Feel old.” Zayn says as she blows smoke toward Niall’s face. She makes a displeased face and sticks her tongue out at Zayn before taking another hit, and Zayn grins when she starts to feel it. Her room’s gonna smell like pot for days, but she finds it difficult to care as Niall pulls her forward, her pink lips parted as smoke curls from between them. 

She breathes it past Zayn’s lips, tongue darting forward just enough to lick at Zayn’s mouth as she exhales. Her fingers on Zayn’s skin feel electric and she feels like a fucking teenager. 

“Hey,” Niall says, her fingers brushing against Zayn’s as they pass the quickly diminishing joint between them, “Is it weird I kinda want to know everything about you?” 

Zayn laughs low in her chest and makes a humming noise as she considers. “Nah, not really. What d’you wanna know?” 

Niall lies down on her back across Zayn’s bed, unbuttoning her flannel with one hand. “Dunno. You’re like this gorgeous architect girl with her life together, it’s so hot.” 

“My somewhat stable career is a turn-on?” Zayn asks her, snorting as she helps Niall unbutton her shirt. It’s not anything that seems like a come-on, Niall getting undressed, it just seems like her. Zayn thinks it’s odd that she can tell what seems like Niall, considering she barely knows her, but stranger things have happened, she supposes. 

“Considering I’m an unsuccessful musician without direction, a bit, yeah.” Niall says, grinning up lazily at Zayn, and Zayn grins back before leaning down to kiss her. 

“You look cute scooping ice cream, though.” Zayn tells her, resting her hands on the soft skin of Niall’s waist. 

“What’s this tattoo mean?” Niall says, running a finger over the Arabic script on her left collarbone. 

“Be true to who you are. I was eighteen, it seemed like a good idea.” Zayn says, shrugging. She actually does like that one, as opposed to some others she got at eighteen. Niall hums, still running her finger over it, back and forth. They finally finished the joint, and the roach is stubbed out in Zayn’s ashtray next to her cigarettes. 

“What language is it? D’you speak it?” Niall asks, her words falling out of her inebriated mouth clumsy and slow. 

“Arabic, and no. Know a bit of Urdu, but that’s it.” Zayn says, and Niall grins. 

“Yeah? Say somethin’.” 

So Zayn says the only phrase she can recall off the top of her head, ‘I love you’, familiar from repeating it over and over to relatives on her dad’s side of the family for years. 

“How about you? Any embarrassing tattoos?” Zayn asks, though she’s pretty sure she knows the answer. She doesn’t remember any ink stains on Niall’s pale body. 

“Nah, never felt strongly enough to commit. Tried to get one on my ass, once, when I was drunk. They told me I didn’t have the right kind of bum.” Niall says, her nose crinkling as she laughs. 

“I like your bum.” Zayn says, reaching down underneath her to squeeze it for good measure. Niall just giggles again. 

“You make me feel like a fuckin’ kid.” Zayn says, lying down next to Niall and spreading her palm over her stomach. 

Niall hums again, grinning with her eyes closed. “How come?” 

“Got a big dumb crush on ya.” Zayn says, burrowing her face in Niall’s neck to hide her blush. 

“God, you’re cute.” Niall says under her breath, and Zayn laughs, her breath hitting Niall’s skin. “Put on your pajamas, then, let’s have a proper sleepover. Weed and all.”

Zayn nods, kissing Niall again before getting up to take her jeans off.

“I would offer a repeat of the other night, only I’m too fucked up. Don’ wanna do anything I regret.” Niall says, pulling off her shorts and kicking them across the room. 

Zayn strips down to her black panties, her standard pajamas, unclasping her bra and getting back into bed with Niall, who’s doing the same.

“What about your pajamas?” Niall asks, smirking as Zayn settles herself down onto Niall, legs straddling her hips. 

“Don’t wear any.” 

“Yeah, me either.” 

She leans down and kisses Niall like she’s wanted to all night, deep and slow and sleepy while the beats of a Drake song play softly in the background. 

“S’too bad we’re not sleeping together tonight.” Zayn breathes against Niall’s cheek, and she can feel Niall’s breath hitch. 

“Yeah? How come?” Niall asks, hands ghosting up the knobs of Zayn’s spine. 

“I’d fuck you so good you’d forget all your rules.” Zayn says, and Niall bites her lip, pulls Zayn by the hair back into a kiss. 

“Next time.” Niall says, dirty and promising before giving Zayn a last soft peck and pulling her down to lie beside her instead of on top of her. 

Zayn’s still buzzing with energy, but her body feels weighed down from the beer and the weed and the weight of Niall on her stupid heart. She falls asleep in minutes, with Niall’s blonde hair all she can see when she looks down. 

++

From: Louis 1.48 AM  
 _Zayn do me and Liam actually act like were dating_

From: Louis 1.56 AM  
 _Fuck_

From: Louis 2:02 AM  
 _Zayn i dont know how to feel things text me back_

From: Louis 2:15 AM  
 _Youre probably getting laid. i hate you._

From: Louis 2:43 AM  
 _it’d be a nightmare though wouldnt it? me and Liam._

From: Louis 3:06 AM  
 _Fuck_

++

“Zaaayn, why’s your room smell like - oh.” Zayn hears first thing in the morning, before she can even open her eyes.

She does open them, a minute later, to find Harry standing in her doorway, looking unfazed. It’s a semi-familiar scene to him, probably, and the awkwardness of walking in on each other has died down over the years. If she could work past accidentally seeing Harry wank, they could work past anything.

“Who’s she?” Harry asks quietly, poining at where Niall’s spread eagle on her stomach, one hand resting on Zayn’s ribs. He only stares at Zayn’s tits a little bit while asking, and it’s kind of admirable. 

“Niall.” Zayn shrugs, and Harry shrugs back. 

“Did you smoke pot in here last night?” Harry asks, looking amused, and Zayn just shrugs again.

“Cool. Have fun with that. By the way, Louis’ been trying to call you for like twelve hours straight, your mobile’s been ringing in the kitchen all morning. And for god’s sake, change your ringtone from fucking marimba.” He says before walking off from her room, and she rolls her eyes. She extracts herself from Niall’s arm, doing a clever roll off of the bed without waking her up. 

It’s still early, and if Louis’ calling her before noon, it must be urgent. Well, Louis’ definition of urgent. Which has been known to include telling her about particularly frightening bugs in his bathtub in the past.

She puts on one of the sweatshirts she stole from either Danny or Ant the last time she was home, too-big and comfortable, and pads out into the kitchen, lighting a cigarette as she scrolls through her notifications. 

Five calls and six texts. Well. 

She can’t help but laugh at his “Fuck.” So oblivious. 

She calls him back while she turns on the kettle, ashing her cigarette in the sink. Technically she’s not supposed to smoke inside, but there’s a window open, so it doesn’t really count, right? 

“Zayn.” Louis says in a serious voice in lieu of a greeting, and Zayn rolls her eyes. 

“Yeah, hi, drama queen.” Zayn says. She can practically hear Louis roll his eyes.

“Life was so easy before yesterday,” He says, sounding very put-upon, and Zayn snorts. 

“Christ, you’re ridiculous.” 

“Did you know about this?” 

“What, that you and Liam are essentially married?” Zayn says. “Yeah, it’s hard not to notice.”

Louis just groans again, and Zayn fights back a snigger.

“How did this happen,” he’s saying over and over in varying tones of desperation.

“How’d you not notice, bro? You make jokes all the time about your _dates_ , about how you’re an old married couple.” 

“I don’t _know_ , Malik, but I don’t appreciate your attitude.” Louis snaps, and Zayn doesn’t even try to contain her laughter. 

“Zap, a new best friend who isn’t too busy sleeping with cute girls to help me with my emotional crises.” Louis grumbles into the phone.

“Aw, Lou, am I your best friend? Zap, a boy who tells me he loves me more.” Zayn says, pouring boiling water into three teacups, dropping in teabags. 

“Shut up, of course you are. Also, I tell you plenty. Your ego doesn’t need to get any bigger, babe.” Louis says, and Zayn grins.

“You’re starting to sound like your usual self again.” She says, grabbing her mug of tea and sitting on top of her counter. She finishes off her cigarette, tossing the butt into the garbage before taking a sip out of the steaming mug. 

“You’re annoying. How lucky did you end up getting last night?” 

“Not very. But I did end up smoking pot with her in my bedroom, which was unexpected.” 

“Sounds like a good night.” Louis says mildly, and Zayn grins.

“Yeah. Really good, actually.” 

“You’re smug. It’s gross. You’re gross. Go snog your ice cream girl, Malik.”

“Go snog your live-in boyfriend, Tomlinson.” Zayn says back, and she can just catch Louis’ “ _Ugh_ ,” before he hangs up. 

She brings Harry a cup of tea, and he nods at her in thanks with his phone pressed against his ear. Sunday morning is when he calls Gemma, a phone call that’s always intended to last twenty minutes but lasts three hours instead, without fail. 

“Hi Gem,” She says loud enough for her to hear, and Harry grins, ruffling her sleep-mussed hair.

“She says hi back,” He tells her, moving the phone away from his mouth, and Zayn smiles at him, tucked into his bed on the phone with his big sister. He’s so goddamn cute sometimes. 

Niall’s still asleep in her bed, turned over so that she’s hugging Zayn’s pillow to her. She sets down her tea on the table next to her, sitting down on the bed. She’s torn between waking and not waking Niall, and she decides on the latter, pulling out her laptop and slipping on her reading glasses. It makes her feel businesslike, staring intently at her computer with her glasses on, but really she’s been stuck on a level of Candy Crush for two weeks, and she has online shopping to do. 

Niall wakes up an hour or so later, her tea gone cold and her eyes blinking blearily as Zayn scrolls through a too-expensive clothing website. 

“Hi,” she murmurs, her accent thick and heavy with sleep. She rolls over, nuzzling onto Zayn’s stomach, and Zayn reaches down to run her hand through her hair. 

“You’re cute.” She says quietly, and Niall grins against her. 

“‘M hungover.” Niall says, propping up to rest her head on Zayn’s shoulder, fingers picking at a thread hanging from the cuff of the sweatshirt. “You’re warm.” 

Zayn leans down off of the bed, grabbing Niall’s discarded flannel from the floor. Niall just gives her an appreciative look, fixing the buttons one by one. She nuzzles back into Zayn’s shoulder and just stays there, her quiet and still seemingly out of character. 

“Y’want breakfast?” Zayn asks after a few minutes, and Niall nods readily. 

“Cool. I’ll make you the only thing I know how to make.” 

“It sounds great,” Niall laughs, and Zayn just grins at her, presses a short kiss to her lips before closing her computer and standing up, her bones cracking as she stretches. 

She fries bacon in a skillet, Niall perched on the counter behind her in her half-buttoned flannel and panties that she just now realized say “yum!” on the back in big letters over her ass. 

“Bacon sandwich?” Niall asks when Zayn sets the plate down in front of her.

“Bacon sandwich. Cures any hangover.” Zayn says confidently, leaning back against the cabinet, and Niall laughs. 

“Sick.” 

While she’s eating, Harry pads out from his bedroom in nothing but his grey briefs, shrugging when he sees Niall.

“Hello, I’m Harry, welcome to our home.” He says in a friendly voice, reaching above Zayn’s head to grab a poptart out of the cabinet. 

She waves while she chews, apparently not finding the situation strange in the least. 

“So this is my flatmate.” Zayn says, reaching behind her to pat him on the bum. He just turns around and gives a wide grin full of poptart before walking back off to his bedroom like the elusive forest creature that he is. 

“Your life’s like a cartoon.” Niall says, shaking her head. 

“You’re the one with pink hair who works primarily with ice cream.” Zayn says, looking amused.

“Well, I mean, I’m part of the cartoon. A guest character.” Niall reasons, finishing her sandwich. 

“Recurring, maybe.” Zayn offers. 

“Cool.” 

They grin across the kitchen at each other before Zayn pushes herself off the counter, standing in front of Niall with her hands outside Niall’s thighs. She spreads her legs, wrapping her feet around Zayn’s back to pull her in, and Zayn’s smile widens involuntarily. 

“Can it at least be a cool cartoon? Like Adventure Time or something?” Zayn asks, and Niall giggles.

“Yeah, you’re that hot vampire chick.” Niall says, before closing the gap between them and kissing her. She can feel the callouses on her fingers when she brings her hands up to cup Zayn’s jaw, rough and hardened skin in juxtaposition with the soft touch of her palms. 

“Reckon I should leave soon.” Niall says, her hands resting on Zayn’s shoulders. 

“I mean, you don’t have to.” Zayn says lightly, and Niall grins. 

“Nah, I do. I’ve got to work. But I’ll keep that in mind. Next time I’m here, you’ll have to throw me out when you’re sick of me.” 

Zayn doesn’t voice the cheesy line that runs through her mind then, the thought that she’s only known Niall for days but she doesn’t think she can get sick of her.

++ 

Louis calls her again when she’s lying in bed, trying to determine if her room still smells like pot. 

“Zayn, I downloaded Taylor Swift.” Louis says, sounding distressed.

“I’m sorry, what?” Zayn laughs, surprised.

“I felt like it was the thing to do in this situation.” Louis says, and Zayn can hear the twang of a banjo in the background. 

“Christ almighty.” 

“I’m starting to understand the fuss, I think. She’s very good.” Louis says lightly, and Zayn wonders if he’s sang “You Belong With Me” at Liam’s closed bedroom door under his breath. 

“Look, you dolt, just fucking talk to him.” Zayn says, exasperated, and Louis goes quiet.

“That sounds awful.” He says after a moment, sounding disgusted.

“Okay, then keep writing in your diary about how Taylor Swift is the only person that understands how you’re feeling.” 

“I do not have a _diary_ , honestly, Malik.” Louis says defensively.

“You should get one. A pink fuzzy one that you can tell your secrets and write about how dreamy Liam’s eyes are.” Zayn says.

“If I was going to get a diary, which I’m _not_ , it would be very adult and professional, thank you. Something black and leather-bound that smells like responsibility. Everyone would think I was writing down transcripts of my latest important business meeting, when really I would be drawing pictures of Liam’s cock.”

Zayn snorts, and she can hear Louis’ satisfied smirk from across the line. 

“I don’t want to talk about Liam’s cock, alright?” Zayn says, and she hears Harry walk into the room behind her, turns around to see him giving her a half-confused, half-amused look.

“It’s nice. As far as cocks go. It’s a nice cock.” Louis says, sounding almost wistful, and Zayn wonders how she ended up here.

“Jesus christ,” she mutters, rubbing at her temples. 

“I’m just saying, Zayn. I’ve lived with the man for almost eight years. You see things. And there was that time we sort of showered together.” 

“Jesus, what? No, I don’t want to know. Please, don’t do this to me. He’s just a cute little puppy to me, I don’t need to think about his cock.” Zayn groans. Harry makes another face.

“How do you think _I_ feel?” Louis whines, and Zayn snorts again.

“Look, I’m sorry, Lou, to leave you in your time of sexual and romantic frustration, but I really can’t talk about dick with you.” 

“God, why not? You’re no fun.” Louis pouts, and Zayn thinks it’s amazing how his focus can completely shift if something doesn’t go his way.

“Why are you talking about dick?” Harry asks, finally.

“Because Louis is one.” Zayn answers concisely, and he squawks from the other end. 

“You know what? Piss off, Malik. I’m coming over.” Louis says fiercely, and Zayn just sighs.

“At least bring me some food, yeah?” She says, desperately, and Louis scoffs. There’s a pause, before he says, “Alright, fine,” in a small voice.

“So Louis is broken.” Zayn announces, locking her phone. 

“God, what finally did it?” Harry asks, sitting down on her bed. He’s still in his underwear, scratching lazily at his stomach.

“Finally realized, about him and Liam.”

“Oh Christ, that’s been a long time coming.” Harry says, grinning.

“S’not funny. He wants to talk to me about it now, analyze every twitch Liam’s pecs do if they brush hands or something. God, I don’t want to know about Liam’s dick.” Zayn says, flopping down onto her bed next to Harry. 

“It’s still really funny though,” Harry says in his sticky slow voice, and Zayn snorts into her comforter. 

Louis shows up with a pizza box in one hand and Love Actually in the other, looking slightly aggravated. Whether it’s with them, himself, or the situation as a whole Zayn’s not quite sure.

“Why is everyone in here? Why aren’t you people wearing clothes?” Louis asks, looking from Harry to Zayn, both stretched out on her bed in states of undress. 

“It’s Sunday.” Harry says, shrugging, and Louis shrugs back.

“Fair enough, I suppose.” He says, before settling himself between the two of them, setting the pizza box on Zayn’s nightstand, balanced precariously on top of her alarm clock. 

“So I hear you made a revelation.” Harry says, turning onto his side to face Louis.

He rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. “Shut up, Styles, wipe that smug look off your face.” 

“Smug? Me?” Harry says unconvincingly, grinning widely at Louis. 

“Ugh, you’re so cute. Why’d we break up?” Louis whines, reaching out to push Harry onto his back. 

“Mm, you want the long list or the short list, love?” Harry asks, still grinning, and Louis laughs. 

“I wasn’t - was this, like, a thing? When we..?” Louis asks, gesturing between them, and Harry stays quiet for a little too long, face arranged into a blank look.

“Well. Shit.” He says, rolling over to bury his face in Zayn’s neck. She pats his back consolingly as he sighs heavily, rolling back over to face the ceiling. 

“I brought a stupid romcom and greasy pizza, please humor me.” He says, and Harry immediately jumps up to put Love Actually in the DVD player.

“Is this mine?” Harry asks, looking at the DVD case.

“Yeah, I borrowed it a year ago, figured I should give it back. I’m nothing if not considerate.” Louis says, sniffing, and Zayn and Harry pause before cackling wildly.

++

Louis’ tucked into Harry with his back pressed to Harry’s chest, sitting neatly between his legs and Harry’s tattooed arms wrapped around his chest, and it’s cute. 

Zayn’s reminded of similar sights from a year and a half ago, Harry whispering into Louis’ ear and Louis giggling into his neck, kissing his jaw and being generally nauseating. They were always cute, though, always like this. It didn’t matter if they were in love or if it was after, after they went back to the grey area they seemed to claim somewhere in between friendship and romance. 

It’s slightly inexplicable, their relationship, but it’s theirs, so no one ever thinks to question it. Louis reaches back to pinch Harry’s nipple when he realizes he’s tearing up at the scene with the signs, at “To me, you are perfect.” 

“You emotional sod.” Louis says fondly, and Harry leans down to bite his shoulder. 

Louis and Harry have a distinct knack for making you feel alone, for making you notice the empty space beside you and the missing warmth that they exude for each other. 

So Zayn acts rationally and scoots over so she’s sitting between Louis’ legs, making them into a chain long enough that her feet are dangling off the end of her bed. 

“Hi, babe.” Louis says, wrapping an arm around her middle and resting his head on her shoulder. 

“I think I like Niall.” Zayn sighs, and Louis hums. 

“Yeah. I figured. It’s been a while since you’ve spent more than ten minutes with someone you’ve slept with, hasn’t it?” He asks her, not unkindly, but she elbows him half-heartedly anyway. 

“It has, actually. More than a while. Since Perrie, probably.” She says a minute later, while Harry wipes at his teary eyes behind them. “Is that sad?” 

“Nah. S’not sad. I get it.” Louis says.

He reaches down to trace the outline of the rose on her thigh, fingers following the curve of the petals.

“Dunno. Just scary, isn’t it?” She says a minute later. She doesn’t explain any further, knows she doesn’t have to with Louis, and he nods, chin bumping against her shoulder. 

“What’re you gonna do about Liam?” She asks him, and he sighs back at her. 

“A part of me kind of just wants to go into his bedroom naked or something, use the element of surprise.” He says, and Harry snorts. 

“Knowing Liam, he’d probably just offer you something to wear.” Zayn says, and it forces a laugh out of Louis. 

“Have you two even kissed before?” Harry asks him, and Louis shakes his head. 

“Wow, that’s a feat. How long’ve you known each other, twenty years?” Zayn asks. “I kissed you within a week of knowing you.”

“Historically speaking, I’m a very kissable person.” Louis says, and Zayn really can’t argue with that. After all, he’s sandwiched between two past sexual partners on a bed watching a romantic comedy. 

“One time, in sixth form, someone dared him to kiss me at a party or something. One of those stupid party games you play when you’re just getting used to alcohol and you want to shag everything in sight. But he wouldn’t.” Louis says, and Zayn turns around to look at him in confusion. 

Turning down a dare didn’t sound like Liam, and neither did turning down anything that would make Louis laugh. 

“Yeah, it was weird. He just freaked out, ran off to a bathroom. I assumed it was just like, some gay panic thing. Maybe not, though. Maybe he just doesn’t want to kiss _me_.” Louis says dejectedly, and Zayn rolls her eyes.

“Louis, he was seventeen.” Harry says dryly, and Louis sighs dramatically.

“I know, Harold, it’s all very tragic.” 

“Louis, you’re an idiot.” Harry says, and Louis turns around, a ridiculous look on his face. 

“How very dare you,” He says, barely above a whisper, sounding truly betrayed. Harry just snorts, leaning down to kiss his cheek. 

“Go talk to your beefcake half-boyfriend.” He says, and Louis sighs again, leaning back against Harry’s broad chest. Zayn leans back against Louis in turn, and grabs another piece of pizza from the box on the other side of the bed. 

Harry properly cries at the end of the movie, like he always does, and it feels exceedingly normal for a group feelings chat.

++

From: Niall 12.45 PM  
 _Most awkward moment ever go_

From: Zayn 12.48 PM  
 _Pardon me ? :)_

From: Niall 12.52 PM  
 _Im tryin to get to know you !_

From: Zayn 12.53 PM  
 _Haha ok. Walked in on my brother having sex w one of my ex gf’s once. Nothing can top that i dont think. How about you_

From: Niall 12.55 PM  
 _Wow that’s rough . I had one all ready but now i cant even remember ! Yours is so bad it erased my memories. you win !_

From: Zayn 12.57 PM  
 _Favorite color go_

From: Niall 1.00 PM  
 _Boooringggg. Blue._

From: Zayn 1.05 PM  
 _Nah im not boring ur answers are. Favorite ice cream flavor??_

From: Niall 1.06 PM  
 _This is hard !! I take my work very seriously !! Strawberry_

From: Niall 1.06 PM  
 _NO WAIT cake batter_

From: Niall 1.06 PM  
 _NO, BANANA_

From: Niall 1.06  
 _Fuck. all 3 at once. same bowl._

Zayn giggles at her desk Monday afternoon, resting her head on her hand as she considers how deeply, deeply fucked she is.

++ 

On Tuesday, when she gets home from work she digs her old longboard out from her closet, pulling on a pair of half-ruined jeans and Niall’s oversized t-shirt that she forgot to ever give back, knotted at the waist.

She figures if she’s going to blush over a girl like she’s seventeen, she might as well look the part. 

She tentatively pushes off from the sidewalk toward the park where she knows Niall’s still working, holed up in her little ice cream stand. It’s been years since she rode a fucking skateboard, but then, it’s been years since she got giggly-high with someone in her bedroom. 

It feels good, a little strange after years without practice, but she picks it back up easily, leaning to her left and turning easily. 

She gets a bit caught up in re-learning the few tricks she had managed to master years ago, almost passing by the park where she can catch the stripes of the ice cream stand out of the corner of her eye. When she gets closer, she realizes Niall’s smirking at her, and she sticks her tongue out at her from across the park. 

She brakes easily when she hits grass, kicking her board up and catching it in her hand. Niall claps for her, only looking a little sarcastic, but she stops when a few kids come up, placing orders. Niall keeps glancing up at her, though, as she walks over, little looks over top of the kids’ heads. 

She joins the queue, tapping her nails against the rough surface of the longboard as she waits for her to fill ice cream cones with scoops of vanilla and chocolate. When she’s the only one left, she leans over Niall’s counter, resting her chin on her hand and smiling at Niall.

“Hi.” She says, her nails still beating out a rhythm that she’s not really conscious of. 

“What’ll it be?” Niall asks her, grinning back easily.

“One scoop of strawberry, one scoop of banana, one scoop of cake batter.” She says, and Niall laughs.

“You sure, love? That’s a lot of ice cream.” 

“I know. You’re gonna share it.” Zayn says, and Niall just grins at her, looking about as enamored as Zayn feels. 

So they sit on the grass near the stand, just in case Niall has to actually work, sharing bites of Niall’s ice cream combination which is, admittedly, surpisingly good.

“What’re you doing tonight?” Zayn asks, and Niall shrugs.

“Goin’ out with you.” 

Zayn grins, feels like she hasn’t stopped grinning for four days. She leans over and kisses Niall, their mouths cold and sugar-sticky from the ice cream. She tastes like a birthday cake, and Zayn doesn’t want to stop doing this, to stop having kisses that remind her of desserts. 

Later, they get buzzed on shitty $2 beer and eat burgers bigger than their heads at some tiny dive that Niall knows, and Zayn ends up trying to show off on her longboard in an empty parking lot, stumbling and falling off every three seconds. Niall tries to mimic her move from earlier, when she caught her board after getting off, and it clatters loudly to the ground as it falls through her grip. They don’t stop laughing for the entire walk back to Niall’s, their faces pink from it even while they kiss softly in front of her bed, falling over each other easily. 

The intensity from their first night is gone, replaced by a slow easiness and something sweet and warm. Niall’s fingers trace over her tattoos lightly, bubblegum lips trailing down her neck to leave lasting lovebites. Zayn sighs contentedly at the feeling of Niall’s teeth at the hollow of her neck before she flips them over, straddling Niall and reaching to pull her tank top over her head. 

Her bra’s lime green with little pink hearts all over it, because of course it is, and she undoes the clasp easily, kissing from her neck down to her nipples, leaving traces of her red lipstick as she goes. She licks at the barbell going through her navel, pressing little kisses to the soft skin of her stomach before pulling her khaki shorts down. Her underwear’s bright blue with “Friday” written in block letters on the band, and Zayn giggles before kissing her over it, spreading her thighs with her palms and kissing down the inside of her thighs. 

She can see a dark patch forming on the bright fabric, and she grins to herself as she keeps going up and down, up and down her thighs, nipping at her skin lightly and making Niall gasp. Finally, when Niall’s shuddering every time her lips get close to the increasingly wet spot, she slips her fingers into the waistband, pulling them down slowly. 

Niall squirms below her, wriggling out of the underwear quickly, kicking them across her messy bedroom. She spreads her legs wide, looking down at Zayn and catching her gaze for a minute. Her breathing’s heavy already, and Zayn watches her whole body freeze when she runs a spit-wet finger down her folds, slowly pushing into her. She adds another after a minute, slowly pushing in and out, and Niall’s head falls back to her pillow as she tries to fuck herself down on it. 

Zayn reaches up with her other hand, using it to anchor Niall’s eager hips to the bed, and she whines softly. 

“Shh,” Zayn says soothingly before lowering her head, licking at her clit softly. Niall squirms again, twisting under the hand that’s keeping her hips from moving, and Zayn remembers her other hand, thrusting her fingers in again as she moves her tongue in circles around Niall’s clit. 

“Fuck,” Niall mutters softly, her stomach rising and falling quickly, and Zayn takes it as an invitation to stop teasing, to flatten her tongue and give Niall suction. 

“Fuck, Zayn,” Niall says, louder, and Zayn quickens her fingers, not giving her clit any relief in pressure. A few more minutes has Niall making wrecked sounds in the back of her throat, biting down hard on her bottom lip, hands tanged in Zayn’s hair. She comes with a half-choked moan, her breath stuttering and the muscles in her stomach seizing. 

Zayn sits up, pulling her fingers out of Niall and popping them into her mouth. Niall watches her with wide, hungry eyes, and motions for Zayn to come back up to her mouth. The kiss is messy and tastes like Niall, her pale hands pulling Zayn’s t-shirt off quickly. She makes a surprised noise when she realizes she’s not wearing a bra but she doesn’t skip a beat, reaching up one hand to roll a nipple between two fingers. 

“Take your pants off,” Niall instructs breathlessly, and Zayn follows orders, rolling over to get undressed. 

“Now c’mere.” She says, pulling Zayn back on top of her. They kiss again, more heavy breathing than lips touching, before Niall slides down the bed, getting her face level with Zayn’s crotch. 

“Shit,” Zayn whispers as Niall pulls her down onto her face, wasting no time in licking her up and down, her short nails dug into Zayn’s prominent hipbones. 

Niall’s tongue thrusts into her while she brings down one of her hands, thumbing over her clit quickly. Zayn gasps at the friction, the feel of Niall underneath her, and it doesn’t take long before her knees are giving out, propping herself up on her arms while she shivers through an orgasm. 

Niall slides back up, face thoroughly wet, and Zayn gives a breathless little laugh before leaning forward and kissing her. 

“Fuck.” Niall says, and Zayn laughs again. “Yeah.” 

Niall curls up into her side, slinging an arm over her, and she exhales shakily. 

“I like you,” Niall says softly, and Zayn grins, wide and blissed. She turns her head to kiss Niall’s cheek, tasting herself there. 

“I like you too.” Zayn says, and she can feel Niall smile against her. 

++

“You are so disgusting,” Louis says to her Wednesday morning while she’s getting a cup of coffee from the kitchen. 

“Excuse me?” Zayn says, pouring cream into her mug. 

“How long do you look like that after you have an orgasm? Like, days?” Louis asks, gesturing toward her face, and Zayn just rolls her eyes.

“Are you bitter?” Zayn asks, smirking as he narrows his eyes at her. 

“Are you bringing her to dinner tonight?” Louis asks her in turn, and Zayn drops her attitude.

“Dunno, I was gonna ask you if I should.” She says, shrugging. 

“You should. Initiate her.” Louis says, adopting a mischievous grin, and Zayn rolls her eyes again. She’s starting to think they might actually stay like that. 

++

She tries not to think of their biweekly meals as family dinners, but it’s hard not to when they all gather at Louis and Liam’s apartment, squeezed around their kitchen table as Harry makes something elaborate on the stovetop. It started years ago, falling into a natural pattern, and now it’s just a thing. 

Like most things between the five of them, she finds it odd and ridiculous and very nice, and they’re usually marked by a horrendously unsuccessful game of charades and Louis drunkenly singing karaoke by the end of the night. 

She poses it to Niall like it’s not too big of a deal, but something in her tone must shine through, because Niall’s voice gets all soft over the phone, telling her of course she’ll be there. 

Which is how she ends up stressed about what she’s going to wear to fucking Louis’ flat, discarded outfits tossed around her room. She settles on a black tank top tucked into a denim miniskirt, throwing on black thigh-highs as an afterthought, but she would’ve changed again if Harry hadn’t been pushing her out the door, a bag of groceries in his hand. 

He starts browning things and sauteeing vegetables as soon as they walk into the boys’ flat, primly decorated (by Liam) and slightly messy (courtesy of Louis). 

“You’re hot.” Louis says to her as a greeting, and Zayn smirks.

“I know.” 

She plays XBox with Liam while she waits for dinner and for Niall, Louis agitating Harry in the kitchen as his hair gets frizzier and frizzier over the steam of several pots. 

“Lou!” Harry snaps, finally, as someone knocks on the door. Louis and Zayn share a look before they both race to the door, fighting over who gets to open it. Zayn wins, pushing Louis with her hip before pulling open the door to reveal Niall in actual, real clothes. She’s wearing a little sundress, printed with daisies and hanging off her well, and Zayn gives her a slow grin as she looks her up and down.

Niall blushes, grinning, before stepping in to hug Zayn. Before she pulls out, she gives her a soft peck, almost like she’s testing the waters. She catches Louis making a retching face to Liam behind her, and she throws the nearest object at his head.

“Oh, hello there. I didn’t see you come in, Niall.” Louis says calmly, glaring at Zayn before reaching out to give Niall a one-armed bro hug. Liam follows suit, grinning kindly, and Harry waves from his place in front of the stove.

Niall joins Liam and Zayn’s game of FIFA, easily beating them within minutes while she laughs. 

“Haz, what’s that?” She hears Louis say from the kitchen, followed by “Lou, don’t lift that.” 

“Jesus, what are you making?” “Can you please not touch all the food?” 

It’s the familiar sounds of when they all get together, and it’s comforting with the unfamiliar feel of Niall’s leg pressed up against her’s, laughing her half-cackle whenever she scores against them. 

“Are you any good at real football?” Liam asks her.

“Actually, yeah. I’m decent.” Niall says, shrugging and tucking a piece of pink hair behind her ear. 

“You should play against Louis, he absolutely kills us.” Zayn says, and she can feel Louis’ ears prick up from across the room.

“What about how brilliant I am?” He calls, and Liam laughs at the same time Zayn snorts in annoyance.

“I bet Niall can kick your ass at football.” She calls back, keeping her vision locked on the TV. Louis gives a withering laugh.

Niall giggles, slapping at Zayn’s thigh, but she doesn’t back down.

“Yeah, what d’you reckon, mate? You wanna play me later?” She asks, turning around on the couch to find him looking menacingly in her direction.

“Absolutely. What does the winner get?” Louis asks, sliding off from the counter, to Harry’s relief. 

“I’ll get the satisfaction of kicking your ass.” Niall says simply, and Liam laughs.

Louis looks impressed and scandalized, and he walks over to shake her on it. 

They sit down to dinner a few minutes later, Harry bringing over a plate of some rice dish with a big serving spoon.

“Oh, darling, it looks lovely.” Louis says dotingly, leaning up to kiss Harry’s cheek.

“Before I assume again, I should ask, are you two dating?” Niall says, gesturing between them, and they both grin.

“Nah,” Harry says, shaking his head and setting down the plate, walking back over to bring the vegetables he made.

“Used to be, ages ago, but no.” Louis says, piling food onto his plate. 

Niall laughs. “You’re quite an incestuous group of friends, eh?” 

“You know, it’s funny you say that, Zayn made a pass at my sister once.” Harry says, pulling out his chair and sitting down.

Zayn sighs exasperatedly. “For the _last_ time, Harry, she kissed me when she was drunk at a party. It was just a bit of tipsy straight fun, don’t get your knickers in a twist.” 

“You’re not straight, Zayn.” Harry deadpans, gesturing toward Niall, who grins and waves, apparently an icon of how not-straight Zayn is.

“I’m not doing this again, Jesus. I was not trying to fuck your sister.” Zayn says, and Harry just shakes his head.

“You haven’t come on to any of my sisters, have you?” Louis asks her, grabbing the salt.

“Louis, your oldest sister is seventeen. When she’s of age, though, pass her my number, she’s dead cute.” Zayn says, and Louis throws salt at her.

“Oi!” Zayn calls angrily, and restrains herself from starting a food fight. Harry worked hard on the meal, after all, and there’s a difference between initiating Niall and initiating Niall. 

++

“This was a mistake.” Harry says, sounding discouraged as Louis does warm-up stretches in the field behind their building. 

“Nah, it’ll be great.” Niall assures him, re-lacing her converse and fixing her bra strap. Her grin is almost wicked and she wonders how competitive she really is, if it’s anything to compare with Louis. 

The question is answered within minutes of their makeshift football match, Niall’s cackle sounding every time she steals the ball from Louis, kicking it toward Louis’ goal (which was being marked by Harry, sitting on the ground and texting). 

Niall’s certainly good, quick movements and smart feet, but Louis is just that much better, kicking the scoring goal toward Niall’s end, where Zayn’s stood with a hand on her hip. 

Louis roars, pumping his fist in what’s possibly an overreaction at the win of a barely-there football match, but Liam jumps up to him in the middle of the field. Louis jumps to hug him and somehow it ends in Louis’ legs wrapped around him, arms locked behind his neck and the two of them cheering an inch apart. 

The moment passes, the excitement dims, and then it’s just Louis wrapped around Liam, both of them breathing heavily with no space between them. There’s an extended conversation happening between their eyes, and they both look slightly afraid before Louis surges forward and kisses Liam. He’s so surprised he nearly drops Louis, but he catches himself at the last minute, readjusting Louis so that his hands are on the backs of his thighs. And they just _keep_ kissing, like now that the switch has been flipped it can’t be turned off.

Louis slides down from Liam after a minute, looking up cautiously at his eyes, a small grin playing at his mouth.

“Yeah?” Zayn catches Louis say to him, and Liam grins.

“Yeah.” 

++

Their next family dinner, Harry brings Caroline, and they all systematically try to humiliate him for hours, Niall even joining in cautiously, not sure if she belongs to this club yet. 

It turns out Niall is really good at charades, and impressions, and at making Zayn forget all the reasons why she stopped doing this, why she stopped dating people. 

Louis sits in Liam’s lap the whole time, even while they eat, and it’s so nauseating that Zayn glares at him throughout the meal, but she just can’t put the usual heat into it.

It’s hard to feel malice when Liam’s looking at him with his big happy puppy eyes, and Louis is looking earnestly _happy_ in a way Zayn hasn’t seen him in too long. 

Caroline compliments the meal and kisses Harry goodbye at the door despite Louis telling awful stories about how hopeless of a boyfriend he was, and Harry looks like he might honestly cry a little bit. 

“I love you lot.” He says later when he’s had a few more glasses of the cheap wine Louis picked up, throwing an arm around all of them and pulling them into a group hug. Niall grins at her from inside the breadth of Harry’s arm, and Zayn grins back, feeling at home.


End file.
